Catmint Glow
by malicent
Summary: The cruelest season is upon the clans, striking the most unthinkable hunger and sickness. Meanwhile, the catmints use turns into more than just a cure for greencough. And as addiction starts to spread, a storm begins to rise.
1. New Leaf

Catmint Glow

Chapter 1: New Leaf

Firestar stared out into the camp, listening to the hushed sounds of his clan as they slept. The moon cast a bright glow over the hard trodden earth, generations of paw prints forever sunk into the dirt floor. Firestar looked down at his pelt, which had turned a light yellow from the moons shine.

_I wish I could sleep, _Firestar thought to himself. His belly rumbled with hunger, the lack of food making his bones show in a sickly way. He blearily shook his head to clear his thoughts, trying to push fresh kill out of his mind. He forced himself to not look over at the empty fresh kill pile.

_It's like a tempting dream, _Firestar thought, resting his head on his paws. His head felt too heavy for his neck, and his paws felt like they were full of rocks.

_I don't know how much longer we can last._

_Our warriors are starving. Every scrap of food goes to the kits and elders._

Firestar was woken out of his depressing thoughts as he heard a cough, coming somewhere near the nursery. It was a kit who coughed, Firestar could tell by the way its tiny mew crackled.

_Starclan, _Firestar looked up at the sky, glaring at the starry night. _We are starving and cold. We will soon no longer be able to fight to survive. Are you really going to throw a sickness into this terrible mix?_

Firestar waited for Starclan to reply. A few seconds later, a drip of water landed on his nose. Rain started to pour, and he could feel the wind ripple through his pelt.

Up above, the stars in the sky remained still.

* * *

Hollyleaf woke up uncomfortably, a damp chill making her bones feel like an elders. She stretched, looking around.

_Great, _Hollyleaf thought miserably, staring out at the wet den. _It rained. Again._

Beside her, Lionblaze started to rustle, blinking open his eyes. He too looked uncomfortable, and Hollyleaf watched as he looked around in the same way she did.

"It rained," Lionblaze commented, rolling his eyes subtly. "That's terrific."

"At least it's not raining right now," Hollyleaf said with a failed bright tone. Lionblaze scoffed angrily.

"Well now we have to get Jayfeather to mix us something for our sore bones on top of the traveling herbs," he snapped. "I'm going to get a bellyache from all these different medicines."

Hollyleaf shrugged, glancing out of the den to across the clearing, where the medicine cats den was. By the looks of it, other cats had woken up stiff as well, because they were lining up outside of the den.

"Poor Jayfeathers got his work cut out for him today," Hollyleaf commented. "He must have been up at the crack of dawn from complaints about sore bones."

"Prepare yourself for his wrath," Lionblaze joked, climbing stiffly to his paws. He nudged his sister affectionately before he pushed his way out of the den. "Come on, we might as well get in line before the rest of the camp wakes up."

"I'm coming," Hollyleaf replied. She followed her brother out of the den, wincing as a sharp cramp of hunger pierced her like a claw.

_I can't wait to eat my traveling herbs, _Hollyleaf thought. _Hopefully it'll numb some of this hunger for a few hours._

Ever since leaf bare, prey had been scarcer than a flower growing in the snow. Hunting parties were out at all hours, but they always came back with a disappointing amount of fresh kill. There was usually enough to feed the elders and kits, but sometimes even they went hungry. The rest of the clan got to share a few measly scraps.

_It's more of a tease than a meal, _Hollyleaf thought angrily. _Soon we will be so malnourished, the warriors won't even be able to hunt anymore._

Ever since the outbreak, Firestar had ordered Jayfeather to prepare a traveling herb for every warrior and apprentice, to curb some of the stabbing hunger.

"I can hear Jayfeathers cranky voice already, and we're not even in the den yet," Lionblaze commented in Hollyleafs ear. Hollyleaf didn't have to strain her ears to hear it. Inside, Jayfeathers snarky voice was on full sarcasm.

"No, you're not getting more," Hollyleaf heard him snap at someone she couldn't see. "Does it look like I have time to mix up more for everyone? No! I'm up nearly all night to make what you got. So just _take it."_

Hollyleaf watched as a disgruntled looking cat stomped out of the den, traveling herb in his mouth. It was Berrynose.

"Your brothers in a terrible mood," he said through his mouthful. "All I did was ask him one simple question and he nearly ripped my head off."

"Stupid questions deserve stupid answers," Lionblaze whispered under his breath as Berrynose walked out of earshot. Hollyleaf giggled.

The line seemed to take forever, but Hollyleaf didn't blame them. Jayfeather must have been completely unprepared for the rain, and he must have had to make each cat a herb mixture for it from scratch.

Finally, after what seemed like several moons, it was Lionblazes and Hollyleafs turn.

Hollyleaf pushed her way inside, preparing herself for a wave of anger. Jayfeathers ears were flat against his head, and his eyes were narrowed. On the floor around him, leaves and different berries were scattered, and everything was terribly unorganized.

"Good morning," Hollyleaf blurted out, trying to lighten the mood. Jayfeather turned to stare at her.

"_Good morning," _he snapped, voice dripping with sarcasm. He grabbed two travelling herb bundles and dropped them at his siblings feet.

"If one of you breathes one word about being sore, I'm going to lose my mind," he growled.

"But Jayfeather," Lionblaze started, stretching out his sore hind legs. "We _are_ sore."

"Fine!" Jayfeather turned around pointedly and started throwing things together. "Every freaking cat here seems to be."

"It's not our fault," Hollyleaf replied glumly, feeling sad at Jayfeathers spitting tone. Jayfeather was silent for a few moments, and Hollyleaf could tell that he was trying to calm down.

"Here," he said, pushing the herbs towards them. His tone had softened, and Hollyleaf blinked at him to show that she accepted his unspoken apology.

"Are you two going hunting now?" Jayfeather asked.

"Yeah," Lionblaze replied in a dull tone.

"Don't get too excited now," Jayfeather replied flatly.

"Hopefully we catch something today," Hollyleaf put in. "I don't think I can handle much more disappointing hunting trips."

"Yeah, well, don't hold your breath," Jayfeather said. He sighed and looked away, eyes filled with anger.

"I don't know why Firestar doesn't just go ask one of the other clans for help."

Hollyleaf shrugged, not knowing what to say. Beside her, Lionblaze coughed uncomfortably. Jayfeather stared at them like they were idiots.

"Why doesn't he?" He snapped. "How long is he going to make us suffer?"

"He's a proud cat, I guess," Lionblaze replied. "I'm assuming he doesn't want to look weak."

"Yeah, well," Jayfeather snorted. "I wonder how _weak _he's going to look when we all die. That'll look so much better than asking another clan for help."

"I guess that's a good point," Hollyleaf sighed. She looked at Lionblaze. "We should probably go now. The rest of the patrol will be waiting."

"Right," Lionblaze said, looking not excited at all. "See you later, Jayfeather."

Jayfeather twitched his tail and didn't respond.

Hollyleaf followed Lionblaze out of the den, trying not to stare at the lineup of her sickly clan mates. She shivered, ice cold already.

_Please, Starclan. Let us catch something today._

* * *

Leapordstar sighed as she watched Mothwing, impatience running through her pelt. The medicine cat was slowly pulling a wad of cobwebs together, preparing a cast for the scratch on Leapordstars pelt. The webs were sticking into Mothwings claws, and she couldn't seem to untangle them.

"Where's Willowshine?" Leapordstar asked, looking around for Mothwings apprentice. "She could help you untangle that mess."

"Willowshine said she was out looking for herbs," Mothwing mumbled, not meeting her leader's eyes. "Even though our stock is quite good right now."

Leapordstar detected a weird tone from her, and she looked at her quizzing.

"Why do you sound so skeptical about it?" Leapordstar asked. Mothwing shrugged and continued picking webs off her paws.

"She's been more than a little distant lately," Mothwing confessed at last. "And her mind seems really cloudy a lot of the time. I haven't the slightest clue why."

"Maybe she's just stressed out," Leapordstar suggested gently, wanting to ease the anxiety that she was picking up on. "About Dawnflower suddenly getting greencough."

"Well, I'm stressed about that too!" Mothwing burst out. She slammed her paws on the ground, getting dirt in the webs. "Great," she hissed.

"The catmint will grow in newleaf," Leapordstar said. "We're just getting out of the last of leaf bare."

"Exactly," Mothwing exclaimed with frustration. "It rains every day, so why are all the crops dead?"

"I don't know, Mothwing," Leapordstar said slowly.

"If the greencough spreads, many cats will die from sickness," Mothwing whispered. "We have enough fish for every cat to eat as much as they want. We have every herb in the world. Except for the one we need."

* * *

Jayfeather sat in his den, too angry to go outside. His head was spinning from hunger, even after eating another traveling herb. _This world sucks, _Jayfeather thought, glaring at nothing. _Newleaf isn't supposed to be like this. Has every freaking mouse and squirrel just suddenly died?_

Jayfeathers belly rumbled sharply, and he swore in frustration. He rolled over onto his side, staring at all his herbs laid out on the floor. The only thing he was really short on was poppy seeds, but he knew that there was a bunch of them in a bush not far from the camp.

_I'll pick some up later, _Jayfeather thought to himself. _If I don't die before then._

He looked over at the biggest pile, which consisted of a giant stash of catmint.

_It makes perfect sense, Starclan, _Jayfeather thought angrily. _We have enough catmint to cure greencough for seasons and seasons. But food is apparently too great of a gift to give us, hm?_

Now that he was thinking about it, Jayfeather was suddenly more aware of it. The sweet scent wrapped around his nose, and he found himself getting up.

He approached the pile of stems, and he picked one up with his teeth. The taste of it was unbearable.

_I'll just eat one, _Jayfeather thought. _We have plenty, and there's a garden of it where I can find more._

He quickly ate it, feeling his heart race at the sudden burst of food. He felt a little better, but not by much.

_I wish I had greencough, so I could eat this every day! _Jayfeather jokingly thought. _Actually, that's a terrible thing to wish for. I take it back._

He laid back down on the ground, suddenly feeling strange. His paws felt heavy, but his head felt lighter than a feather. His body felt as though sparks were burning the tips of his fur.

His mind felt loopy.

But the hunger had strangely disappeared.

_Is this what happens when you eat catmint when you're not sick? _Jayfeather thought. He stood up, suddenly feeling full of energy. _This feels really cool._

A sudden noise distracted him, and he shot up to his paws at once. _It's like I'm alive again._

"Hey, Jayfeather."

It was his sister, standing at the doorway to his den. She had a tiny, shriveled up mouse in her jaws. Jayfeather looked at Hollyleaf, feeling sad. Her ribs stuck out, and her pelt was dull. She looked terribly miserable.

"You can have it," Jayfeather said at once. "Eat the whole thing and don't share it with anyone else."

Hollyleaf stared at him, confused. "You look better than when I last saw you," she said. "What happened?"

"I nibbled on a stem of catmint," Jayfeather shrugged. "It smelled so sweet and I couldn't help myself."

"Jayfeather," Hollyleaf scolded. "That catmint is for cats with greencough! What if we run out?"

Jayfeather made a big show of waving his paw to the heaping pile of catmint stems.

"Want me to take you to the catmint garden too?" he said sarcastically. Hollyleaf thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "Whatever."

"Now eat that," Jayfeather instructed. He couldn't bear to see her so weak and hungry. The catmint was also making him feel very friendly, and he wanted to help.

"I should go split it with the others," Hollyleaf said sadly. "There's hardly anything else."

"Eat the damn mouse, Hollyleaf," Jayfeather snapped. "As your medicine cat, I am giving you an order."

"But the others-"

"The others can wait until later," Jayfeather cut her off. You give away your share too often. You're probably hungrier because of that so you deserve it."

"Well," Hollyleaf still looked skeptical. "Okay."

Jayfeather watched proudly as she ate the mouse in a few bites.

"That was awesome," Hollyleaf said. She looked up at him, and Jayfeather could already see the light in her eyes again.

Jayfeather just smiled, but he stopped when Hollyleaf got a concerned look on her face.

"Are you… okay?" she asked, leaning in closer to him. "You're pupils are really big."

"I'm good," Jayfeather said. _Freaking great is more like._

"Okay, well," Hollyleaf started to back out of his den. "I'm glad you're feeling better. And don't eat anymore of the catmint stems; I think it made you feel weird."

"Alrighty," Jayfeather waved his tail in goodbye. When she was gone, he started jumping up and down. _I've got so much energy! I just want to do everything at once!_

He started mixing traveling herbs for tomorrow morning, going at an extreme pace. _This way I don't have to do it in the morning. Everyone will be so impressed!_

He mixed seven herb bundles, placing them neatly in a row. He was just about to mix the eighth, when his bones suddenly felt heavy. He felt tired, and he slumped to the ground.

He fell asleep on the pile of traveling herbs.


	2. Breaking the Rules

Catmint Glow

Chapter 2: Breaking the Rules

_a/n. Jayfeathers not blind in this k! My story, my rules _

* * *

Jayfeather woke up awkwardly, spitting leaves and berry juice. He looked around him, annoyed to find his pile of travelling herbs squashed.

_How did I possibly manage to fall asleep on them? _Jayfeather thought to himself in frustration. He used his paw to scoop them into a pile, embarrassed. _I hope no one came in and saw me._

Jayfeather then suddenly realized he had no idea what time it was. He peered out of his den; alarm shooting through his body as he realized the sun was rising, the blue sky bright.

_Crap! I should have been up hours ago!_

Jayfeather scrambled to his paws, realizing cats would begin coming in any second for their morning traveling herbs.

_They're all going to be late!_

Jayfeathers paws felt heavy, and he blearily started mixing together herbs. His fur felt sticky from the berry juice he had laid on, and his bones were sore from not sleeping in his soft nest.

_This is going to be a terrible day. I can already tell._

"Good morning, Jayfeather."

Jayfeather groaned. _I haven't even gotten one done yet and there's already cats coming in!_

"Hey," Jayfeather grunted, looking around briefly to see who it was. It was Brightheart, and she looked upset. _Oops. I shouldn't have groaned out loud._

"I'm sorry," Jayfeather mumbled over his shoulder. "I'm just very behind right now."

"It looks like you haven't slept at all," Brightheart commented, her one good eye shining with concern. "And you look like you rolled around in a pile of juniper berries!"

Jayfeather just shrugged, not knowing how to explain. He struggled to focus, paws fumbling with the leaves as he tried to wrap it together.

"Here," he said at last, shoving the poorly wrapped bundle to the she cat. Brightheart looked at the mess of a herb wrap a second too long before she bent down to pick it up.

"Thanks," she said at last, giving Jayfeather a strange look. Jayfeather flicked his tail irritably as she left. He started making more, each one looking more terrible than the last.

_I'm so tired and hungry I can barely think straight, _he thought. _I don't know how I'm going to get through today. _

Jayfeather sighed and continued his work, getting up after a few seconds to grab some more stock from the back of the den. On his way over, he passed the catnip that was sitting in a pile. He stopped and stared at it for a moment. It seemed to call him, teasing him with its perfect sweet scent. Jayfeather thought back to yesterday when it made him feel so alive, and awake.

_One little bite won't hurt anyone, _Jayfeather said, leaning down to take a bite off the stem. _I won't eat the whole thing again. Now is not the time to be falling asleep._

Almost instantly, Jayfeather felt his stomach ease up as the catmint went down. His eyelids lost their heaviness, and he suddenly realized he wasn't cross anymore. He grabbed the stock from the crack in the wall and walked back to his herbs with a new light.

_I'm ready, _Jayfeather thought to himself. Energy burned in his paws. _I can't wait to start mixing!_

* * *

Willowshine padded through the trees, feeling good after just eating two fish. It was such a nice day, Willowshine closed her eyes as she felt the sun warm her pelt. _It feels so good. Especially after all those days of rain!_

Then she started to cough.

Willowshines body twisted and a sharp pain ran through her side, as she coughed over and over. She looked around to make sure no one saw, and then proceeded to walk.

_I do not have greencough, I do not have greencough, _Willowshine said the words over and over in her head, determination making her hold her head high.

_If I make myself believe it, then maybe it will help._

She started to cough again, this time it was worse than before. She wheezed and choked, sending a prayer to Starclan that she wasn't in the middle of the Riverclan camp. She tried to tell herself that she didn't have greencough once again, but now her spirits were dampened.

_There will be catmint growing today, there will be catmint growing today, _Willowshine started to chant in her mind. _There, that's a good thing to be hoping for._

However, all hope was lost when Willowshine approached the area where the catmint was supposed to grow. The once thriving area was black, and dead, snow killed stems lay pitifully among the weeds. There wasn't even one single green plant, everything was dead beyond repair.

_Great, _Willowshine thought sadly. _That's just great. _

All traces of her optimism crushed, Willowshine started to walk back to the Riverclan camp, tail drooping. When she got back, she spotted Mothwing right away.

"Did you find any?" Mothwing asked, rushing over to her. Willowshine could hardly bear to look at her mentors hopeful face.

"No," Willowshine said very quietly. Mothwings ears went back slightly, and Willowshine could see the frustration in her eyes.

"It's all dead, Mothwing," Willowshine blurted out. "It's not going to grow back."

"That kind of talk will not make anything better," Mothwing hissed, taken aback at Willowshines sudden outburst. "We must continue to stay hopeful."

"Until _when?" _Willowshine wailed. "Until we all _die_?"

"That is enough," Mothwing growly, voice turning strangely calm. "I will not have that kind of negativity," and with that, she turned and stalked away, tail flicking angrily.

Willowshine scratched at the ground with her claws, fear for her clan mates and herself making her dizzy.

_I have greencough. How will anyone in Riverclan trust their medicine cat if she can't even cure herself?_

* * *

Firestar watched anxiously as the evening hunting party walked back into the clearing. The party consisted of Brambleclaw, Lionblaze, Whitewing and her apprentice Icepaw. The only one carrying any prey was Brambleclaw. He held a single squirrel in his jaws, and by the looks of it, a very old and tough one.

Firestar tried not to get upset, but it was a terribly disappointing sight.

He stood up and padded over to them, trying to mask how upset he was. He felt a pang of guilt as he looked at young Icepaw, the white she cat was the size of a kit. Her fur was matted and she looked terribly sad. Firestars heart broke as he realized this was how his entire clan looked.

"Has Sandstorms hunting party returned?" Brambleclaw asked. He looked a little embarrassed by the squirrel, and he shoved it behind him.

"No, you're back first," Firestar said. He wondered briefly how his mate and the rest of her patrol was doing. _Hopefully better than this one._

"I just don't understand," Lionblaze shook his head angrily, staring off into nowhere. "How can all of the prey just vanish like this?"

"It's like they all just died in leaf bare," Whitewing put in.

"I don't know why the forest is so bare," Firestar replied, trying to sound strong. "But I'm sure they'll recover."

"Why don't you go take this to the elders," Firestar heard Whitewing whisper to her apprentice. Icepaw stood up on thin legs and picked up the squirrel. She looked so hungry and upset, Firestar couldn't take it anymore.

"No, she can have it," he burst out. Icepaw looked up at him with surprise.

"Go share it with Foxpaw," Firestar told her. Icepaw blinked gratefully at him, and then ran off in search for the tabby tom.

"That was nice of you," Brambleclaw growled, an odd look in his eyes. "But what about the elders?"

"There's only two apprentices right now," Firestar started to explain. "But they're starting to look like two kits."

Brambleclaw nodded grimly.

"I'm going to go find Hollyleaf and go out again," Lionblaze said, looking for approval from his leader. Firestar nodded his head. "Good idea."

Lionblaze started to pad away, but Firestar called him back.

"Don't wear yourself out, Lionblaze," he said, staring at the exhausted looking warrior. "You've gone on three hunting party's already today. Don't think I haven't noticed."

Lionblaze shrugged. "Maybe this time I'll get lucky and find something."

* * *

"I doubt we'll find anything," Hollyleaf said. "We've barely caught anything all day."

"Well, we could at least try," Lionblaze said, trying to sound bright. "And I was thinking Jayfeather could come too, he's been sitting in his den all day. And it's so nice out, I'm sure he'd appreciate a walk."

"Okay," Hollyleaf said, eyes dull from hunger. "Let's go get him."

Hollyleaf led the way to Jayfeathers den. When she pushed her head inside, she was surprised to see Jayfeather putting a leaf wrap on a giant pile at the wall of his den.

"Wow," Hollyleaf exclaimed. "There must be enough traveling herbs for days there!"

"Yeah, I'm a little ahead," Jayfeather flashed her a bright look from his eyes and Hollyleaf suddenly knew what was going on.

"How do you look so awake?" Lionblaze asked before Hollyleaf could confront him about the catmint. "And how did you find time to do all this?"

"I've had all day, there's no need to be just sitting around," Jayfeather said cheerfully and slightly too fast. He patted his stack of herb wraps lovingly.

"Jayfeather," Hollyleaf snapped. Jayfeather looked startled, and he jumped. "What?"

"You've been eating the catmint again," Hollyleaf stated sternly. "You need to stop it. It's for curing greencough!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jayfeather rolled his eyes at her. "Does it look like anyone has greencough right now? No!"

"That logic is horrible!" Hollyleaf snapped. "We might as well tear down all the dens. It's not raining _right now _so what does it matter?"

"Chill," Jayfeather sighed loudly and made a face at her. Then to Hollyleafs annoyance, Lionblaze started giggling.

"Do you find this funny?" Hollyleaf demanded.

"He just looks so happy," Lionblaze snickered. "I never see him like that. So yeah, it's a little funny."

"Heehee," Jayfeather said in a silly voice. "But seriously, you should just try a little bite of it. It works wonders. I'm not tired, I'm not hungry. I'm getting all sorts of crazy ideas that just might work."

"You sound insane," Hollyleaf said.

"What kind of ideas?" Lionblaze asked. Hollyleaf glared at him. "Don't encourage this!"

"I'm not," Lionblaze said, glaring at her. "And you need to calm down. Haven't you seen the catmint garden? It's huge."

"Yeah, well," Hollyleaf realized she didn't have an argument. "It just feels weird," she mumbled at last.

"So I was thinking," Jayfeather continued, looking more excited than a kit about to be made an apprentice. "I think since Firestars not going to do anything about the prey problem, then we should."

"What?" Hollyleaf demanded.

"Cool," Lionblaze whispered under his breath.

"So here's my idea," Jayfeather continued, pacing back and forth. "Step one, we sneak into Shadowclan. Step two, we steal as much prey as we can carry. Step three, we go home. Step four, we feast."

Lionblaze began to laugh, staring at his brother with admiration. "I like the happy Jayfeather!" he cried. "He's way funnier than the cranky one."

Jayfeather just giggled.

"Are you INSANE?" Hollyleaf cried out. "How can you possibly even _think _that? Stealing another clans prey is against the warrior code! Not to mention, we can't just walk in there and hunt, they'd smell us a mile away! And most importantly, it's not right."

"A lot of things aren't right," Jayfeather shrugged, still wearing the calm look on his face. "Stealing is wrong. But is being hungry right?"

Hollyleaf couldn't respond.

"And come to think of it," Lionblaze said, face strained as if he was thinking hard. "Shadowclans got their own patches of catmint, don't they? We could roll around in ours and they wouldn't even know we were on their territory."

"But the warrior code," Hollyleaf couldn't help saying.

"Screw the code," Jayfeather scoffed. "Cats are going to die soon from hunger. I'm going to do something about it."

"I'm coming with you," Lionblaze said, nodding his head slowly. "It's about time someone took action."

"Are you going to come too?" Jayfeather asked his sister. Hollyleaf sighed, feeling confused. _I guess staying alive is more important than any code. We won't be able to follow the code at all when we're dead._

"I'm coming," Hollyleaf said at last. Jayfeather looked so happy about this he started jumping up and down. "I knew it! I knew you would!"

"So should we just roll on a stem?" Lionblaze asked, eying the pile of catmint.

"Yeah," Jayfeather walked over and grabbed three stems. Hollyleaf rolled around on it, enjoying the way it smelled. When they were done, Jayfeather stood up and ate his stem he rolled on.

"It would be a waste if we didn't," Jayfeather instructed, motioning for Hollyleaf and Lionblaze to do the same. "If you don't eat them, I'll have to throw them away."

At this point, Hollyleaf was just so done with everything. "Well, since we're breaking all the rules, might as well," she said, before leaning down to eat it. At once she felt different, and her ears perked up. After a couple minutes went past, she started to feel wild. Her blood boiled and her heart raced with excitement.

"Let's go!" she cried. "I can't wait!"


	3. Cracks

Catmint Glow

Chapter 3: Cracks

"I can't believe we're doing this!" Hollyleaf whispered, feeling giddier than ever. Her paws felt like they were made of clouds, and she was floating across the sky. Her head felt as though it were filled with tiny bees, buzzing in her ear and tickling the inside of her skull.

"We should have done this sooner," Lionblaze put in, nodding his head furiously. "This was such a great idea."

"I told you so!" Jayfeather cried out in a singsong voice.

Hollyleaf smiled. It felt like a butterfly was tickling her stomach.

"Okay, we're here," Jayfeather announced, looking straight ahead into the darkest part of the forest. "No more playing around."

"We'll be _fine," _Lionblaze said, saying the word 'fine' as if it were made of three syllables. "There's no one around."

"Okay," Jayfeather flashed them both a devilish smile. "Let's go!"

Hollyleafs mind painted the border so vividly; she could see it with her own eyes as if it were neon yellow. She took a giant leap, jumping over the line that wasn't really there. She looked around, wondering where to start hunting. It was very hard to focus because Hollyleafs heart was pounding and it felt like it was beating in her brain. Her head pulsed, and she struggled to concentrate.

"Wait, Jayfeather can't hunt," Lionblaze burst out suddenly.

"SH!" Hollyleaf shushed him, dimly aware she was being louder than he was.

"I'm going to be keep watch, duh," Jayfeather said as if everyone should know this, even though it wasn't mentioned until now. "It's not like I'm blind here."

"My head feels like it's going to fall off my neck," Lionblaze said suddenly, looking around in a paranoid fashion. "Jayfeather, why didn't you tell us catmint would make us feel so weird?"

"It's better than being tired and hungry," Jayfeather said in a pleasant voice. "Once you get used to it, it's quite nice."

"I don't think I'll ever get used to it," Hollyleaf said, blinking too many times. "It feels like my eyelids aren't supposed to be on my face."

"Maybe they're not," Jayfeather said in a spooky voice. He rolled back his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Hollyleaf nearly passed out from fright.

"Stop it," she squealed. "You look like a demon."

"Okay, let's start hunting," Lionblaze broke in. He stumbled over to where a bird was calling. "I'm gonna get that bird and he won't even see it coming."

Hollyleaf watched, feeling a hideous urge to start laughing as Lionblaze clumsily got ready in the hunters crouch. She looked over at Jayfeather, to see if he found it funny too, but to Hollyleafs dismay, he was staring at a stick on the ground.

"Jayfeather!" Hollyleaf hissed. "You're supposed to be keeping watch!"

"Uh, what?" Jayfeather snapped back to reality. "I was."

Hollyleaf suddenly became more aware of what was going on. She started to get anxiety, and she felt her mind grow a little clearer.

_Oh, Starclan, what are we doing? _Hollyleaf thought desperately. _We're in Shadowclan territory… our minds are all messed up. And we're hunting! _

"We should go back," Hollyleaf whispered to Jayfeather. "I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen."

"It's okay," Jayfeather scoffed. But by the way his eyes turned afraid made Hollyleaf more certain they were going to get caught.

"Let's go," Hollyleaf whispered. By now, she was so terrified she could barely sit still.

"But Lionblaze is hunting! We can't leave him behind!"

Hollyleaf sat restlessly, feeling full of air and terror.

It seemed like moons before Lionblaze returned, holding two large mice and a bird. He proudly walked up to them, dropping the prey on the ground.

"Not bad, considering how fuzzy headed I am right now," he said brightly.

"Lionblaze, we have to _go," _Hollyleaf choked out. "I'm so scared."

Lionblazes carefree expression turned dark as he suddenly realized what he had done. He picked up the prey at once and darted for the border.

"Come on," Hollyleaf nudged Jayfeather, who was for some reason slumped over against a stump. She hissed with frustration as she realized he was passed out.

"_Get up," _Hollyleaf hissed with all the venom she could muster. She shook him hard, but his eyes remain closed. Hollyleaf shook him again, beginning to panic.

"_Jayfeather, wake up now!" _she whispered in his ear. She shoved him again, digging her claws into his fur. This jolted him awake, and he looked around as if he was unsure of where he was.

"You idiot! We need to go!"

"W-where are we?" Jayfeather asked, clearly confused. Hollyleaf opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she heard a snap. She could hear voices, and she knew there was no more time to waste. She dragged Jayfeather by his scruff to his feet, and took off pelting through the huge dark trees. She didn't look behind her until she was well into Thunderclan territory. She thanked her lucky stars as she saw that Jayfeather had kept up.

"What's going on?" Jayfeather asked blearily, stumbling up to her. His eyes were half closed, and Hollyleaf knew that any second he would fall asleep again.

"We snuck into Shadowclan, don't you remember?" Hollyleaf hissed. By now the catmint had completely worn off, but she was still not tired or hungry because of all the sickening anxiety.

"Why the hell would we do that?" Jayfeather asked, head lolling to the side from being so tired. "That's so… stupid."

"It was your damn idea," Hollyleaf growled in his face. When Jayfeather didn't respond, Hollyleaf felt a pang of concern. _Why is he acting like this, when the catmint should have worn off? I'm perfectly fine._

"Hey," Hollyleaf poked him several times with a claw. "Hey, what's the matter?"

Jayfeather slumped over into a pile of grass, clearly unable to stand anymore. He looked up at his sister, eyes clouded and bleary. It was like he wasn't even there at all.

"How much catmint did you eat today?" Hollyleaf demanded, wondering if her brother was stupid enough to eat more than that one stem.

"How much did _you_ eat?" Jayfeather asked, voice strange and distant.

"Just that one little bit you gave me," Hollyleaf said. "Now answer the question."

"I don't _know, _okay?" Jayfeather said slowly, sighing at the same time. He rolled his squinted eyes. "Like, four, maybe?"

"_Four?" _Hollyleaf shrieked. "You _idiot!" _

"Not all at once, stupid," Jayfeather whispered, falling back asleep. "Just when one wears off… then I eat another…"

Then he passed out again, head hitting a piece of a rock. Hollyleaf sighed heavily, feeling concerned and terrified that Shadowclan picked up their scent. Then another disturbing thought crossed Hollyleafs mind, and she felt another fresh wave of anxiety run through her.

_Where was Lionblaze?_

At the same moment she thought this, the shock and nerves wore off. Hollyleaf suddenly had a pounding headache, and her legs turned to rubber. Her mouth turned bone dry, and she collapsed to the ground.

This was her last memory of the day.

* * *

Willowshine sat miserably in the medicine cats den, with Mothwing beside her. She had to fight off the urge to cough with everything she had, so she wouldn't seem sick.

"You're quiet today," Mothwing commented, voice kind. She looked over at Willowshine, waiting for an answer. The second Willowshine was going to respond, a hideous cough built up in her throat. She bit her tongue and turned away, body convulsing as she held the coughs in.

"Well, okay then," Mothwing said, voice suddenly turning hard. "You clearly don't want to talk, so I won't bother you."

"I do," Willowshine croaked, voice hoarse and thin. Mothwing turned and looked over her shoulder.

"Are you sick?" she asked sternly.

"No-" Willowshine broke out into coughs mid lie, and she knew she had blown it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mothwing demanded. "For Starclans sake, Willowshine! I've been in the den all day with you, you could have infected me!"

All Willowshine could do was cough.

"It's not… greencough, is it?" Mothwing asked sharply, backing away. "Willowshine, please tell me you just have a cold!"

"I'm sorry," Willowshine whispered, looking away. "I'm so sorry…"

"If you infected me, you get to tell the clan why both medicine cats are sick," Mothwing spat angrily, glaring at her. "Willowshine, I thought you were smarter than this."

And with that, Mothwing stalked out of the den. Willowshine hung her head, feeling depressed and ashamed. However, on top of these feelings, Willowshine also felt a huge rush of guilt and worry.

_What happens when she asks where I got the greencough from? _She thought to herself. _She'll think it was Dawnflower… until she finds out Dawnflower got it from me._

Willowshine swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat.

_There's no excuse I could use on why I got greencough. I eat plenty; I'm in camp all day. I'm never cold. What will happen when they question me?_

A disturbing thought tugged at Willowshines mind, and it made her feel so sick that she wanted to throw up.

_What if other cats get sick?_

_It will be my fault and my fault alone._

* * *

"She's been asleep all day; don't you think we should wake her up?" Hollyleaf heard her mother's voice dimly in the back of her mind. She tried to open her eyes, but it was like they had been glued shut.

"What's wrong with her, is she sick?" Hollyleaf heard Leafpool ask again. She sounded worried and scared, and Hollyleaf struggled to wake up. She blinked her eyes, eyelashes sticking together at first. It was hard to focus, everything looked like blurry clouds. But after she waited a few seconds for her eyes to straighten, everything was suddenly crystal clear.

"Oh, Hollyleaf!" Leafpools voice rang out loudly. She rushed forward, pushing her face into her daughter's fur. "We were so worried. You've been out for hours!"

"H-huh?" Hollyleaf mumbled, mind fuzzy and memories broken. She couldn't remember what had happened. _Last thing I remember is Lionblaze and I talking to Jayfeather, _she thought to herself, trying to piece it together. _We were talking about hunting… and then Jayfeather was acting really funny again._

Hollyleaf looked over to who her mother was talking to, and realized with a jolt it was Jayfeather. He looked like he had woken up from a season long nap, his fur was sticking up everywhere and his eyes were squinted and red.

And then it all came back at once.

_We ate catmint and stole prey from Shadowclan._

Hollyleaf felt a sickening pang run through her, making her feel nauseas and light headed. She guiltily turned away from both of them, wondering what Leafpool knew.

_I can't remember anything after we got back over the border._

_Oh, Starclan… what happened?_

"I don't blame her for being tired," Jayfeather suddenly broke in. Hollyleaf snapped her head up at him, wondering what he was going to say.

"She was out all day hunting," Jayfeather continued, rolling his bloodshot eyes as if it was obvious what was going on. "She worked herself sick. No food will do that to a cat."

"My poor dear," Leafpool whispered, staring at Hollyleaf with wide, sad eyes. "You shouldn't have been out when you were that hungry."

"When I went out looking for her, I tripped over a tree root and hit my head on a rock," Jayfeather said to Leafpool, bowing his head so Leafpool could see the swelled up bump just above the other ear.

Hollyleaf swallowed painfully, remembering painfully how Jayfeather had passed out and smashed his head. _Well, at least his excuse is valid._

"We were lucky Lionblaze found us," Jayfeather spoke again, and with a jolt Hollyleaf realized what was going on.

_He made an excuse for all of it_

_But what about Lionblaze and the stolen prey?_

"It was a blessing that Lionblaze managed to find what he did," Leafpool said suddenly. "Who would have thought to hunt near the catmint garden?"

_What about the scent of Shadowclan all over it? _Hollyleaf thought, feeling quite rattled. Her head felt as though rocks were banging around in her brain, and she closed her eyes and tried to fight her hideous headache.

"The prey smelled like catmint, but that's no bother," Jayfeather said slowly. "What do you expect, really? You can smell the catmint garden clean across the territory. Everything around there must have been doused in the scent."

Hollyleaf got a sudden image of Lionblaze, rolling the prey around in a clump of catmint, shadowing the scent of Shadowclan.

"Well, I'm just glad you're up," Leafpool said kindly, nuzzling her head against Hollyleafs. "Take a few moments to wake up and then come outside, you get to have a piece of Lionblazes catch."

"O-okay," Hollyleaf stammered, still not completely clear what was going on. "Thank you."

Leafpool smiled and stood up, leaving the medicine cats den. Hollyleaf and Jayfeather waited until her paw steps had completely faded before speaking.

"So, um," Hollyleaf whispered. "What the heck is going on?"

Jayfeather sighed irritably and fiddled with his claws. He stared at her through narrowed, bloodshot eyes. Hollyleaf noticed he was trembling slightly, and she wondered briefly why he looked so awful.

"Well," Jayfeather began. "I don't remember anything about going into Shadowclan. But Lionblaze filled me in all the blanks there. However, I do remember waking up a few tail lengths from the Shadowclan border with you."

"I remember Shadowclan," Hollyleaf said slowly. "But nothing after. What happened after we woke up?"

"Well, I left you there for a bit so I could find Lionblaze," Jayfeather said, scrunching up his face as he tried to remember everything. "I found him in the catmint garden, rubbing stems on the prey we stole."

"So that was his idea," Hollyleaf commented. "I'm impressed."

"So was I," Jayfeather confessed. "Anyways, when I found him, we thought of a plan to hide what we did. While I went back to get you, he went back to camp with the prey. Since everyone knew that Lionblaze went out hunting for you, he made up a story of how you split up. He pretended to be confused on where you were, thinking you must have made it back already."

"So how did you work yourself into this?" Hollyleaf asked.

"I was looking for herbs, of course," Jayfeather snickered. "Who would question that? I found you lying on the grass, and I went up to you."

"And that's when you tripped over the root and banged your head," Hollyleaf whispered. _All the pieces are together. Every track has been covered._

"Exactly," Jayfeather whispered. "It's a perfect alibi. Everyone believes us."

"Well, we must have hit a lucky break," Hollyleaf sighed, feeling guilty. "I really don't feel good about this, though."

"Nor do I," Jayfeather said quietly, looking at the ground. "It was a scummy thing to do. But I feel even worse about lying to everyone."

"We must promise never to do it again," Hollyleaf said sternly. Jayfeather didn't look up for a minute, body still trembling.

"Seriously, Jayfeather," Hollyleaf said. "You don't look good. I think that catmint is affecting your body."

"I'm fine," Jayfeather said a little too quickly. "But you're right, we shouldn't do that. I don't think we'd have such good luck if we tried it again."

"It's like snow," Hollyleaf replied. "It can cast a blanket over the earth. But it gets rained on too much, the grass underneath will be uncovered, and the cracks will begin to show."

"It'll be okay," Jayfeather insisted. "Now go out and eat. After all, you passed out from hunger not too long ago."

"I did, didn't I?" Hollyleaf smiled slightly, and then stood up and padded out of the den and into the clearing.


	4. Preparing the Storm

Catmint Glow

Chapter 4: Preparing the Storm

Crowfrost sniffed the air, scenting the dim aroma of toads. He looked around, squinting his eyes hoping to see one jumping in the marsh. A white noise answered him, with no toads in sight.

_It's guiet today, _Crowfrost thought to himself, twitching his black and white tail. _A bit too quiet, if you ask me._

A crashing noise disrupted the peacefulness, and Crowfrost jumped as his apprentice Olivepaw barreled into his side.

"What are you doing?" Crowfrost hissed down at the little she cat. "You're going to scare off all the prey."

"Sorry," Olivepaw mumbled, getting up quickly. "I tripped over a root."

"You must work on your clumsiness," Crowfrost said sternly. "You will be no good in battle if you're tripping over roots all the time."

"Sorry," Olivepaw sighed, hanging her head. She looked so disgruntled Crowfrost felt bad for a fraction of a second. He quickly shook it away. _Shadowclan is the strongest. We did not get this way from being soothed every time we tripped over a root. _

"Where are the others?" Olivepaw asked, looking around in confusion. "They were here a second ago."

"Blackstar and Russetfur went on ahead," Crowfrost explained. "We don't all need to be in a big bunch."

"Oh," Olivepaw shrugged. Crowfrost struggled not to sigh with frustration. Olivepaw was already distracted, and he got a feeling she hadn't heard him at all.

"When will I get to go to my first gathering?" Olivepaw asked loudly.

"Talk _quieter!" _Crowfrost growled. Olivepaw rolled her eyes and repeated herself in an exaggerated whisper.

"You will have your turn soon enough," Crowfrost replied. "Now concentrate. Breathe deeply through your nose, what do you smell?"

Olivepaw stopped at once and squeezed her eyes shut. She took a bunch of deep breaths.

"Riverclan," Olivepaw said after a minute of thinking. "And it's strong, too. We must be right on the border."

"Very good," Crowfrost forced himself to sound encouraging. _The borders are so strong here a blind kit could have pointed it out._

"They smell so nasty," Olivepaw said, making a big show of flattening her ears.

"I know, Olivepaw. You say that every time."

"Crowfrost!"

Crowfrost looked up, recognizing his leaders call before he put a face to words. Blackstar was a little ways ahead, fur standing up on his back. With a jolt of alarm, Crowfrost ran over, Olivepaw behind him.

"What's wrong?" Crowfrost asked at once, feeling jolted as he looked at his leader and deputy. Both of them looked very off putting, with an angry look in their eyes.

"Sniff the air, Crowfrost," Blackstar instructed at once. Crowfrost did as he was told. He breathed deeply, but at once recoiled back in confusion.

"Catmint," Crowfrost said slowly. "And a lot of it."

"But none is growing here," Russetfur put in. "Or anywhere near."

"That's … weird," Crowfrost said, at a complete loss of what to say.

"You know what I think," Blackstar growled, turning behind him to where the Thunderclan border rested a few tail lengths away. "I think they had something to do with it."

"Thunderclan? No," Crowfrost scoffed. "Besides, wouldn't we smell them?"

"The catmint would hide any traces of their scent," Russetfur murmured. "I agree with Blackstar. I have a funny feeling that they have something to do with this."

"Something just doesn't tie together," Crowfrost shook his head, confused.

"Something certainly doesn't," Blackstar agreed, shooting another hateful glance in Thunderclans direction. "I just have a strange feeling about it."

* * *

"Lionblaze, a word?"

Lionblaze jumped at the sound of Firestars voice, wondering why he sounded so hesitant to talk to him. Firestar stood in front of him awkwardly, but not breaking his solid eye contact. At once Lionblaze felt a rush of anxiety, and he struggled not to look away.

"What's this about, Firestar?" Lionblaze forced himself to ask nonchalantly, blinking his eyes as if he were curious. Meanwhile, it felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Every bad thing Lionblaze had ever done flew into his mind, especially the day's previous events.

_Oh good god he knows what we did_

_How am I ever going to explain this?_

Firestar then turned and started to walk away, and Lionblaze looked around desperately for his sister. He spotted her a little ways off, body rigid as she stared at him. Lionblaze shot her a terrified glance before turning around to follow Firestar.

"So, about earlier," Firestar got straight to the point. Lionblaze suddenly felt very cold with fear.

"You caught a lot of prey," Firestar said slowly, voice careful. "And I want you to know, that I am grateful. You have opened my eyes."

"Um…" Lionblaze was at a loss. His anxiety was quickly washed away with confusion. He studied Firestars green eyes, looking for anger or disappointment. What he found was something he never expected, the look of sadness.

"I hoped that the prey would return," Firestar continued in a quiet whisper, looking down at the ground. "I hoped with all my heart that it wouldn't come to this."

Lionblaze didn't have any words to say. He had never seen Firestar like this, so timid, vulnerable. He looked like a scared, hungry loner instead of the strong leader Lionblaze knew and respected. All he could do was watch painfully.

"I was too proud to ask for help," Firestar said, looking away as if he wasn't talking to Lionblaze at all. "I forced you into desperate actions. Stealing prey from another clan! I never thought I'd see the day when my own pride would turn my own warriors into thieves."

"Firestar, I-"

"If you honestly thought for one second that I believed you caught that prey on our Thunderclan territory, you are sorely mistaken, Lionblaze."

Lionblaze hung his head, ashamed.

"But I am not angry," Firestar said gently. "Never at you, Lionblaze. I know you'd have never done such a thing if you weren't desperate. I am angry at myself."

"So are you going to ask one of the other clans for help?" Lionblaze asked, fidgeting with his paws. Firestar nodded grimly. "It's come down to the point where we don't have another choice."

"How are you going to do it?" Lionblaze asked. He was happy that Firestar had been honest with him, instead of screaming and yelling at him for breaking the warrior code.

_I should have known Firestar wouldn't have gotten mad. He's very fair, and I recall hearing about him breaking the code for the greater good once or twice in his lifetime too._

"Well, I have a bit of a plan," Firestar said slowly, looking up at Lionblaze again. "It's a little risky, but not impossible."

"What is it?" Lionblaze asked.

"The gathering is tomorrow," Firestar started. "And I need your help finding out information from the other clans."

"You want me to _spy?" _Lionblaze crowed in disbelief.

"No, but I want you to be interested in socializing with other clans," Firestar said. "Very interested. We need to find a weak link somewhere."

"So we can help them…" Lionblaze's voice trailed off as he began to understand what Firestar was getting at.

"So they can help us in return," Firestar said under his breath. Lionblaze was starting to get excited. _A mission! I can't wait!_

"Can I get Hollyleaf and Jayfeather in on it to?" Lionblaze asked.

"Of course," Firestar smiled. Lionblaze saw a flash of hope flicker in his leader's eyes, and he knew that he hadn't given up yet.

It felt as though it had been raining for seasons.

Now it was time to unleash the storm.


	5. Pretending Secrets

Catmint Glow

Chapter 5: Pretending Secrets

Lionblaze walked beside his sister, trying to ignore the hunger rumbling deep within his stomach. His mind was churning and spinning with information, distracting him from what he was doing. He tripped over some slippery leaves and nearly face planted the ground.

"Keep it together," Hollyleaf whispered in his ear. "You've been unbalanced all evening."

"I'm trying," Lionblaze mumbled back, shooting a hostile glare over at Berrynose, who was making fun of him for falling. He turned his attention back to Hollyleaf. "I just really don't want to mess up."

"We'll be fine," Hollyleaf said under her breath. But Lionblaze could sense in her voice that she too was nervous. He sighed loudly.

"I can sense your tension from the back of the line," Jayfeather snapped suddenly, wedging his way between them. "Can you tone it down a bit?"

"I just don't want to screw tonight up," Lionblaze replied quietly, hoping no one was eavesdropping.

"We won't," Jayfeather sighed. "We planned it out perfectly."

"Well why do I have to do the hardest part?" Lionblaze growled. "I'm no good on the spot."

"We aren't doing it _on the spot. _We rehearsed the whole thing, idiot," Jayfeather replied scathingly.

"We're almost at the clearing," Hollyleaf whispered. "Are we ready?"

"Yes," Jayfeather said.

"No," Lionblaze whined.

"Okay, Jayfeather, come with me," Hollyleaf instructed. "Lionblaze, wait for my signal."

"What's the signal again?" Lionblaze stalled.

"I'm going to sneeze," Hollyleaf said, speaking over Jayfeathers loud hiss of annoyance.

"How do you make yourself sneeze?" Lionblaze wondered out loud. Jayfeather smacked him over the head with his paw.

"Stop being dumb," he growled. "We need to be focused. We have one shot at getting help without owing a debt."

"We're here," Hollyleaf whispered, pushing her way through the bushes into the gathering hollow. "Let's go."

* * *

Jayfeather looked around the clearing. So far only Windclan and Riverclan had shown up, both clans had already started to mingle with one another.

"Who looks sick?" Hollyleaf whispered in her brother's ear. "Who should we start with?"

Jayfeather scanned the clearing, narrowing his eyes as he concentrated. _Wait, this idea has a flaw… why would sick cats come to the gathering? _Jayfeather felt his heart smash against his ribcage. _They would have been instructed to stay at home. _

_Why the hell didn't we think of this before now?_

"Hollyleaf, we need to go to plan B," Jayfeather mumbled. "I don't think sick cats would even be allowed to come to the gatherings. That would just make them look weak."

"Oh, how could we have forgotten that?" Hollyleaf shook her head in annoyance. "So what do we do now?"

"Seek out the medicine cats," Jayfeather replied. "We can see if we can pull some information out of them." His eyes suddenly locked with another cats across the clearing, and he nudged Hollyleaf. "I can see Willowshine over there. Let's go before one of the leaders decides to start the gathering."

The moon was bright in the sky, shining a blue glow over the cats. Jayfeather could see Onestar and Leapordstar jumping up on the giant rock. Firestar remained with his Thunderclan patrol, immersed in a conversation with Brambleclaw. Jayfeather knew he was stalling joining the other leaders, to give them more time.

Suddenly a group of cats pushed their way out of the trees, heads held high and strong. Shadowclan had arrived, and Jayfeather realized with a jolt that they had less time than they had bargained for.

"Hey there," Jayfeather said cheerfully as he walked up to the she cat. Willowshine smiled at him.

"Jayfeather," she greeted him politely, before turning to Hollyleaf. "Hollyleaf."

"How's it going?" Jayfeather asked, taking note of how hoarse Willowshines voice was. Her eyes were also glassy, and her nose was crusted around the edges.

_This may be easier than I thought._

"Oh you know," Willowshine whispered, obviously trying to hide the fact that she was sick. "I'm fine. So is Riverclan. We're all fine."

"You look sick," Hollyleaf broke in. "I hope it's just a cold that's bothering you."

Jayfeather studied Willowshine as she talked to Hollyleaf, knowing very well that it wasn't just a cold.

_She's got greencough. And she's got it bad._

"I'm not that sick," Willowshine said before breaking out into a bunch of coughs. "Just caught a little chill from last night's rain."

It took all of Jayfeathers strength not to make a sarcastic comment.

"I guess if you're sick, you still have to come to the gatherings, huh," Hollyleaf continued. "Cause Mothwing doesn't believe in Starclan and all."

"Yeah…" Willowshines voice trailed off, and her eyes suddenly grew guarded. Jayfeather felt his heart lurch. _Hollyleafs being too nosy… Willowshine's gonna know we're prying!_

"So, uh," Hollyleaf stammered. It was obvious she too had picked up on Willowshines hesitation, and didn't have a clue how to counteract it. "Um, well… Jayfeather what did you want to come over here for again?"

_Oh thanks, Hollyleaf. Pin it all on me._

"I think you're pretty," Jayfeather blurted out the first thing that came into his head. "Uh, yeah… I saw you across the clearing and I thought to myself how cute you looked. So Hollyleaf told me to come talk to you and I said no way and now we're here."

Willowshine stared at him with wide eyes, clearly unprepared for Jayfeathers words. She looked down, embarrassed. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Jayfeather said proudly, happy that he had completely thrown her off the idea that they might be spying.

"I think you're cute too," Willowshine said suddenly, looking up at him with a look Jayfeather had never seen before. "I wish we had medicine cat meetings more than once a moon so we could hang out more."

"Oh," Jayfeather realized with alarm that he had just unleashed a whole new storm of problems. "Um… thanks… uh…"

Hollyleaf then sneezed; and Jayfeather gave a sigh of relief. _The signal. _He looked behind him nonchalantly, praying to Starclan that Lionblaze was paying attention. He sighed with relief as he saw his brother get up and start to make his way over.

"Oh dear, I hope I haven't gotten you sick," Willowshine said, her voice concerned. Jayfeather couldn't believe how well the plan was working out. _It's like everything has been rehearsed. This doesn't even feel real, Willowshines taking all the bait we're laying out._

"Don't worry about me," Hollyleaf replied. "I don't mean to brag, but sickness can't really touch Thunderclan. We've got enough catmint to cure every case of greencough for seasons and seasons."

Jayfeather gave the scripted hiss of annoyance, pretending to be annoyed at his sister for giving away that information. He snuck a peek back over at Willowshine.

The light in her eyes said it all.

Riverclan was infected by greencough.

And they didn't have the catmint to treat it.

_Time to launch phase two._

"I was looking everywhere for you," Lionblaze said huffily, stomping up to them. "Hollyleaf, you wouldn't believe what I heard Icepaw telling Olivepaw from Shadowclan."

"What?" Hollyleaf asked, pretending to be curious. "Come tell me over here, this is no business of Riverclans."

"Icepaw was trying to trade catmint for prey," Lionblaze hissed loudly, deliberately staying in earshot of Jayfeather and Willowshine. "Telling a _Shadowclan apprentice _of how we haven't eaten in days-"

Then he was out of earshot, but it didn't matter. _That went perfectly, _Jayfeather thought to himself. _Willowshine heard every word. _

"I'm sorry you had to hear that," Jayfeather mumbled, turning back to Willowshine. "I wish they'd learn how to whisper once in a while."

"Don't worry about it," Willowshine said sweetly. She looked so happy that Jayfeather felt uncomfortable. _Ugh, why did I tell her that I think she's cute? Now she's gonna think I like her._

"You do look really sick," Jayfeather said suddenly. "I hope you're okay."

At once Willowshines face fell and she frowned. "I'm not well," she whispered. "And I can't cure it."

"No catmint?" Jayfeather asked, even though he already knew.

"Not one miserable stem," Willowshine said under her breath. "Please don't tell."

"Hey, I won't," Jayfeather said smoothly. "After all, you are now aware of Thunderclans lack of food."

"Secret for a secret," Willowshine replied.

A yowl then broke out from the great rock. Firestar was ready to start the gathering.

"I should go now," Jayfeather said.

"Wait! When will I get to see you again?" Willowshine cried desperately.

_Shit. She likes me._

"The medicine cat meeting," Jayfeather called over his shoulder.

"But that's half a moon away!"

Jayfeather pretended not to hear her and ran back over to where his siblings sat, excluded away from the rest of the Thunderclan patrol.

"It worked," Jayfeather said at once, smiling like an idiot. "I can't believe it worked!"

"And I remembered all my lines!" Lionblaze announced proudly.

"So do you think she'll ask Leapordstar to make a trade?" Hollyleaf asked, ignoring Lionblaze. Jayfeather nodded his head yes.

"It looked as though she finally found a sliver of hope when she overheard Lionblaze," Jayfeather said.

"So what's our next move? What do we do now?" Lionblaze asked.

"We wait," Jayfeather said simply.


	6. The Betrayal

Catmint Glow

Chapter 6: The Betrayal

_I could lie, _

_Could lie,_

_Could lie,_

_Everything that drowns me _

_Makes me want to fly_

* * *

_Willowshine walked alone through the forest, senses heightened to the brink of paranoia. Her paws snapped a twig beneath her, and she jumped. _

I shouldn't be here, _Willowshine thought to herself, taking deep breaths to ease her heart wrenching anxiety. _What if someone sees me?

_Despite her growing worry, Willowshines paws kept moving forward. _I'm almost there, _she thought. _I'll just say a quick hello to him and go back.

_The Shadowclan border was approaching. A cold wind whistled off the trees, chilling Willowshine to the bone. But she grew warm all over as she noticed the silhouette of a cat sitting on the border._

_Blackstar!_

_Willowshine found herself moving faster, as if her soul was reaching out to him. It felt like years to walk over to him, even though it couldn't have taken more than a few heartbeats._

"_I thought you weren't coming," Blackstar growled, ears slightly back. Willowshine relaxed a little, realizing he was just as wary as she was._

"_Of course I was," Willowshine replied. "I had to wait for Mothwing to fall asleep."_

"_I missed you," Blackstar said quietly. "It feels like moons since we last spoke."_

"_I wish you lived in Riverclan," Willowshine confessed. Blackstar snorted. "Catching fish and splashing in the water all day! No thanks."_

_Willowshine purred at his sarcastic tone, leaning forward to brush pelts. To her surprise, Blackstar recoiled back at once. Willowshine leaned back like he had bit her._

"_What's wrong?" she asked._

"_I'm sick," Blackstar warned. "With greencough. Half the clans got it."_

"_Oh dear," Willowshine gasped. "I do hope everyone's alright."_

"_We're getting by," Blackstar growled. "But our catmint stash is low. I'm afraid we won't have enough."_

"_Riverclans got plenty," Willowshine said. "The crops are full… I wish I could share with you."_

"_I didn't know Riverclan grew catmint," Blackstar growled, perking his ears up in interest. "I thought Thunderclan was hoarding all the forest had with their catmint garden."_

"_Well, it's not much," Willowshine admitted. "But a little grows next to sunningrocks, right under the big tree near there."_

"_I see," Blackstar said. There was an odd tone to his voice, and Willowshine wondered if she was imagining it. _

"_I should go," Willowshine broke the silence, voice tinged with sadness. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer."_

"_I share the same feeling," Blackstar said. But his voice was far away, like he was thinking of something else. "We'll never have enough time."_

"_I'll see you again, in my dreams," Willowshine purred, leaning forward and pressing her face next to his. Blackstar stiffened. "I don't want to get you sick."_

"_One touch isn't going to give me greencough," Willowshine whispered. She leaned away, and started padding through the trees. _

_However, she was confused. _Usually my heart feels like it's as light as a feather when I see Blackstar, _Willowshine thought sadly. _

But right now it feels as heavy as a stone.

* * *

Willowshine woke up from her dream, with a cold sweat all over her body. She sat up in her nest shaking, realizing that she had ripped apart her bedding in her sleep. With a shaking paw, she moved the torn up moss in a pile, her thoughts completely scattered.

_That's the first time I've dreamt of that flashback in forever, _she thought, trying to stop her quivering paws. _I wonder why I did tonight…_

Willowshine felt horrible all over, the guilt and shame of her affair haunting her like a soul in the in between world. _I should have never got together with him. He screwed over my entire clan. _Her thoughts were broken as a fit of coughs erupted through her body. _He gave me greencough. And now all of Riverclan is getting sick. And he stole every damn stem of the cure._

Willowshine felt like crying. _Why did I have to screw up so badly?_

_Why do I always fall for cats from different clans?_

An image of Jayfeather then appeared in her mind, and she felt slightly better. _He thinks I'm cute and I think he's cute, _she thought to herself. _He's really nice and likes me… will he betray me like Blackstar did?_

* * *

Jayfeather looked up as Berrynose pushed his way into his den, making entirely too much noise in the process. He flung a scrawny looking screw on the floor of his den.

"Gee, thanks," Jayfeather snapped.

"You're welcome, good buddy!" Berrynose said in the most sarcastic voice possible. It was so phony that Jayfeather almost started to laugh. Berrynose softened a bit as he saw the corners of Jayfeathers mouth twitch, and he snorted.

"Sorry," Berrynose mumbled. "I'm just so used to you being sarcastic. I wanted to beat you to the punch."

"Don't worry about it," Jayfeather said, voice normal this time. "That was the most entertainment I've had all day."

"Squirrelflights hunting patrol managed to catch three of those," Berrynose said, nodding at the shrew. "We had to nearly force Firestar to take one for himself. The poor cat hasn't eaten in days."

"Where did the third one end up?" Jayfeather asked.

"It was divided up between the elders."

"So you didn't get anything?" Jayfeather mumbled, taking a quick glance over at the heaping pile of catmint stems. _I feel bad for the cat. Maybe I'll give him one._

"No," Berrynose sighed. "Maybe tomorrow."

Jayfeather sighed, his mind was already made up. "Try one of these."

Berrynose watched in disbelief as Jayfeather picked up a catmint stem and brought it over to him.

"I don't have greencough," he said.

"I know, idiot," Jayfeather growled. "Eat it anyway."

Berrynose just stared at him, clearly unsure of what to do.

"Medicine cats orders!" Jayfeather snapped. Berrynose leaned down finally and ate up the stem in a few bites. Within seconds, Jayfeather could see the fire return to his eyes.

"Hey, thanks!" Berrynose said cheerfully. "I feel better already!"

"Just wait until it fully kicks in," Jayfeather muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Berrynose just shrugged and started to walk out of the den, bouncing slightly on his paws. Jayfeather smiled to himself, and took a catmint stem for himself. He was nibbling on it, wondering if he should go to sleep when Hollyleaf burst into the den.

"Why is everyone so loud when they come in here?" Jayfeather snapped. "Like oh my god."

"I know what you did," Hollyleaf said in an accusing voice. "Berrynose was practically flying when he walked out of here. You gave him a catmint stem!"

"The guy was practically passing out on his paws," Jayfeather replied, rolling his eyes. "My better instincts got the best of me."

"Your _better instincts _are what got us in trouble last time!" Hollyleaf snapped, reaching over and snatching the stem away from Jayfeather.

"Hey!" Jayfeather cried. Hollyleaf ignored him and put the half eaten stem back on the pile.

"In case you've forgotten, we need all the catmint we can find," Hollyleaf started. "We're planning on making a tradeoff with Riverclan in the near future!"

"I'm sure one lousy stem won't cause a problem," Jayfeather mumbled.

"Yeah?" Hollyleaf hissed. "Then I guess one _lousy _piece of prey won't make a difference to you either!" and with that, she leaned down and picked up the mouse that was on the ground. "I'm taking this to someone who will appreciate it," she hissed around the mouse. Jayfeather watched her leave, feeling slightly bad for brushing it off like it was no big deal.

_I'll go apologize later, _he decided. He leaned over and picked up the stem he was eating before, chewing thoughtfully until he felt his mind grow dull with tiredness.

* * *

_Blackstar crept silently through the undergrowth, not making the slightest noise as he made his way to the Riverclan border. As he got closer the trees broke off, making the territory more open. But the only sound Blackstar could hear was the river in the distance._

_There wasn't a cat in sight._

_Within moments, he had crossed the Riverclan border. Sunningrocks wasn't far, and thankfully not that close to the camp. Blackstar already knew the way, he had fought battles here before._

_Sunningrocks came into view as the moon hit the middle of the sky. _

_He could smell the catmint before he even saw it. Following his nose, Blackstar found his way no problem to the spot where Willowshine had told him in confidence. _

_As he leaned down to break off the stems, his heart made him pause. He thought of Willowshine, and how much she loved and trusted him to confide in him Riverclans secrets. He thought of how hurt she would be when she found out he stole from her clan. _

Does Shadowclan come first, or does Willowshine, the cat I love? _Blackstar thought to himself. But in the back of his mind, a different version of the questioned remained. _

_Who matters more, me or her?_

_He leaned down and bit off every stem of the catmint, holding it tight in his jaws. He didn't look back as he ran away, back in the direction of Shadowclan._

_Meanwhile, in the Riverclan camp, Willowshine woke up from her sleep, coughing and shaking._


End file.
